1. What is our goal/purpose?

This question always comes to our lives, however, we do not value that much because we
are still uncertain about our main goal in life. As for myself, I really did some reflection about
this question and made me realize the following frames:

As a Person
My goal and purpose as a person is to live the life of a hero. The hero’s journey is captured
in all the great stories in literature, and in all the great movies we enjoy on the big screen. Hero
stories endow our lives with meaning and reveal how a human life is meant to be lived. Just
like a hero who has a journey to take, I too should brace myself to the life’s voyage of comfort
and discomfort; that I should play my role and I am the main protagonist of my story.
Therefore, I should do good deeds and transform myself into a stronger, better person. With
my trusted allies (God, families and friends) will guide me through adversity and will assist me
in becoming forever transformed by my journey.

As a Citizen
It is also my purpose to give back to society. The hero’s journey is far more than mere
personal transformation. Once I return from my journey, will use my new-found gifts to make
the world a better place. My life purpose is to use my own personal transformation to help
transform society. Once mentored by another, shall now mentor others. The selfless service to
the world will forge my place in the human chain of love shown by people who came before me
and by people who will follow me.

As a Teacher
My goal as a teacher is to improve my student’s education and help them grow
knowledgably. I like to see students at different levels develop with each other and learn. I
want to challenge the students and watch them grow to their highest level of education.
Therefore, having the students in groups is the best educational strategy I like to use a lot. I
want my students to have freedom with whatever creativity they want, and to allow them to
express themselves at any time. With this freedom students will be able to experiment with
likes and dislikes and be able to figure their weaknesses and strengths. Education is for
everyone and it’s a right by low for all; teachers, on the other hand, should do their jobs very
honestly and effectively.

2. What key problems, causes and solutions do we exist to address?

“If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the
problem and one minute resolving it,” Albert Einstein said.

Those were wise words, but from what I have observed, most organizations don’t heed
them when tackling main issues. Indeed, when developing new solutions and processes, or
even businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in defining the problems they’re
attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important. Without that rigor,
organizations miss opportunities, waste resources, and end up pursuing innovation initiatives
that aren’t aligned with their strategies. Moreover, without analysing main problems, no proper
solutions will be addressed.

Today the common cause of the seeds of all problems comes with humanity. All of
these problems are complex, and their solutions elusive yet they share a common link. For the
most part, they are all caused by human beings. Most of the problems that we face — within
ourselves, in our relationships with other people, and in society — are caused by people.
 Granted, a few problems don’t require human collusion (tornadoes and earthquakes come to
mind), but most do. Human behaviour is by far the single largest cause of the difficulties that
each of us experience in life. Most problems are people problems, and the people who cause
our problems are quite often us. Human beings also behave in highly maladaptive ways that
create a slew of social, relational, and personal problems both for themselves and for others.

On one hand, human beings have used their intelligence, creativity, and ability to work
together in groups to improve life dramatically through science, technology, government,
philosophy, education, health care, art, and other features of human civilization. Naturally, we
all focus mostly on ourselves and our lives, and we view the world mostly from our own
perspective. But people are generally more preoccupied with themselves than they need to be
and their excessive self-centeredness, egocentrism, and selfishness underlie many, perhaps
most, of our problems. Nevertheless, I believe the solution of one’s problem is answered by its
own and therefore, if people are doing uprights then it easier to solve any problems may go
through.

What can I/we do?

SELF-REFLECTION

1. What are my own strengths and weaknesses related to strategic thinking?

Most of us have a poor sense of our talents and strengths. Throughout our education and
careers, there is a lot of attention paid to our weaknesses. We are acutely aware of our faults
and deficits, our “opportunities for development,” or whatever euphemism is popular for
naming them. We have become experts in our own weaknesses and spend our lives trying to
repair our flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected. The most responsible, yet the
most challenging, thing to do is to face up to our natural talents. It is an honour to have such
blessings and not waste them. With regards to myself, these are the following strengths and
weaknesses I have:

STRENGTHS

 Vision/goal driven – “The two important days in your life are the day you are born
and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain. Goal driven or goal oriented means
setting targets and objectives that will make progress throughout life much
smoother. I am a person who will work much harder whenever there are deadlines to
be met. To be successful in life there must be the desire to set goals and work
towards achieving them. Success is what everybody desires and for many, they do
not realise that they possess all the tools necessary to achieve that which they strive
for.

 Weighs decisions against criteria – It is vital that as an individual you are able to
weigh the pros and cons and make balanced and fair decisions. People who work or
spend their time with you would soon start understanding, and tacitly appreciating,
that you are a just and fair person. At work, this knowledge would leave them free of
anxiety and provide support in improving their performance and productivity. When
people see you as a just and fair person you are more likely to gain their trust and
cooperation. This would make it easier to function as a cohesive group. The work
environment would get transformed as people start feeling the charged morale
based on a fair approach.
 WEAKNESSES
 Lack Analytical skills - You use analytical skills when detecting patterns,
brainstorming, observing, interpreting data, integrating new information, theorizing,
and making decisions based on the multiple factors and options available. These
skills is I believe I should master and develop more. I tend to see things in literal
sense and would “go with the flow” on which I cannot make decisions on my own.

 Not a Questioner – I am a type of person who loves no queries. The tendency of

this is that I may not open myself up more because I am not willing to raise a
question. This may also offend others because if a person do not respond even by
giving question, it seems that person is not interested at all, but for me, I just don’t
want to question. This weakness I have needs me to be a reactive or responsive in
order to have smooth communication and understanding.

2. What adjustments can I make? How might I improve my own strategic thinking skills
and habits?
Aside from keeping your company on an even keel, mastering the art of strategic
thinking maximises efficiency and strengths as a leader or teacher. It helps you think logically
and take the most direct route towards achieving objective. Below are three ways that result
when strategic thinking guides and informs the decisions of myself and my team:

 Open-minded approach. People often approach a problem with a preconceived

solution in mind. This is usually because this approach worked in similar situations in
the past. The life sciences sector is in a constant state of flux, thanks in part to
technological and regulatory change as well as inroads in research. What worked
historically does not guarantee success today.
 Constantly Question. When you think strategically, nothing is taken for granted.
The life sciences are characterised by constant change; companies whose leaders
have a rigid way of responding to new situations will have trouble staying relevant.
Seeing beyond the horizon and embracing change maximises your chance of you
and your organisation staying relevant.
 Comprehension. Strategic thinking requires you to view a problem or situation from
multiple perspectives, with the goal of taking the most logical approach that delivers
the greatest outcome. The result is a deeper understanding of the problem, one
which allows you to evaluate different solutions and the pros and cons of
implementing each.

3. How can I provide more strategic leadership – regardless of the position I hold?
If you’ve ever received feedback that you “need to be more strategic,” you know how
frustrating it can feel. To add insult to injury, the feedback rarely comes with any concrete
guidance on what to do about it. One of my coaching clients, Mica, was in this situation and
explains, “I was just told to think bigger picture and to be more strategic. It felt like I had been
given the definition of a word by using the same word. It just wasn’t helpful.” So how can I
provide more help to think strategically? In order to be strategic, you need a solid
understanding of the industry context, trends, and business drivers. An intellectual appreciation
of the importance of bringing in current data and seeking trends isn’t enough. You also have
to:

 Make it a routine exercise to explore and synthesize the internal trends in your
day-to-day work. For example, pay attention to the issues that get raised over
 and over in your organization and synthesize the common obstacles your
colleagues face.

 Be proactive about connecting with peers both in your organization and in your
industry to understand their observations of the marketplace. Then, share your
findings across your network.

 Understand the unique information and perspective that your function provides
and define its impact on the corporate level strategy.

 With a fresh understanding of trends and issues, you can practice using strategic
thinking by asking yourself, “How do I broaden what I consider?” Questions are
the language of strategy.

 Strategic thinkers also know how to speak the language. They prioritize and
sequence their thoughts. They structure their verbal and written communication
in a way that helps their audience focus on their core message. They challenge
the status quo and get people talking about underlying assumptions. Those that
are really skilled walk people through the process of identifying issues, shaping
common understanding, and framing strategic choices.

The quest to build your strategic skills can be uncomfortable. At first, you might feel
like you’re kicking up sand in the ocean. Your vision will be blurred as you manage
through the unsettling feelings that come with challenging your own assumptions and
gaining comfort with conflict and curiosity. Once the dust settles, however, and you’re
able to contribute at a higher level, you’ll be glad you took the risk.